


Acorn Day

by BubuBORG



Series: Team Medi: Discord Prompts [2]
Category: Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Bag End, Festivals, Language of Flowers, Wistful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 22:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15567411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubuBORG/pseuds/BubuBORG
Summary: Samwise persuades Lt. Commander K'gar to participate in a new festival in the Shire.





	Acorn Day

**Author's Note:**

> Tolkien Discord Prompt
> 
> Story takes place Earth Year 2366 (TNG S3) --Fourth Age year 6.

“I don’t know….”

 

Buffi K’gar looked down at the PADD Samwise gave her as they entered Bag End.The Cainian’s head bumped up against the chandelier hung in the entry hall as the hobbit bounded down the main corridor.

“Don’t be shy now, Miss Buffi,” he called back.“You only need half an excuse to perform, If’n I recall correctly.”

Buffi stuck the disembodied voice with a Look.“But this is a local festival!” she protested.“And I’m not a hobbit, in case you forgot!”

Samwise Gamgee chuckled.No, no one in the Shire would mistake the statuesque Cainian for a hobbit, with her long hound-like snout and luxuriously furred tail.“But Miss Buffi, you are the reason this festival came about!You practically invented Acorn Day!”

Samwise popped back into the parlor, out of his Starfleet uniform, in his typical civilian outfit. 

“Acorn Day?” Buffi inquired.“Are you telling me…” Buffi tried—poorly—not to laugh,“Your people created a holiday all about how your friend Fatty Bolger tried to bean Captain Reid with an acorn?”

 

“Well, it’s partly that,” Sam admitted.“It’s…” and Samwise stopped to holler down the corridor,“Rosie-luv, have you seen my gardening hat?!”

“Hanging off the second hook!” the voice of Rosie Gamgee replied.“Right where you left it!”

Sam looked.“Ah,” he said.“Rightly so.” He plopped the floppy, wide-brimmed hat on his head.“Wanna help me gather some nasturtiums while you figure yourself out?”

Buffi looked at the PADD, then back down at Sam.“You know, you never used to be this cheeky before you were made Chief Engineer.”

“Too right,” Sam said over his shoulder as he made his way toward the garden entrance of the End.“Then I got promoted, Lieutenant.”

“Lieutenant _Commander_ ,” Buffi corrected.“And what aren’t you telling me?”

“What, about Acorn Day?” Samwise said.

“Why me?Why _really_?”

The garden was blooming with the full summer heat.Buffi’s sensitive nose was inundated with all sorts of floral aromas, and the slight alkaline smell of pollen as well.

Before Sam could reply, she sneezed.

And again.

And again.

Samwise turned around, as Buffi wiped her snout with her sleeve.“All done?”

Buffi fixed him with a Look.

“Right,” Samwise sighed.“Look, Buffi… You, and Captain Adam, and Commander Joshua Maurice…The three of you brought the Federation here.”

“That’s hardly—“ Buffi protested.

“…And I don’t just mean to Arda, or even Middle-earth,” Sam continued.“I mean here.The Shire.Where the Federation barely fits in with these folk.You made it work.You didn’t force them do none what they didn’t want to do, though some of them did get hooked into the power grid.You didn’t force them to go out and start using auto cabs and put their ponies out to pasture, though Fatty Bolger made damn sure to get him something shiny and red.”

“Sam, you were there.You know what the mission was,”Buffi said, quietly.Beyond the garden, birds could be heard chattering, and a windchime sounded down from Bagshot Row.“The Prime Directive would have kept us away from here for a long time, if it wasn’t for those Numenorean ships that surfaced.”

“I know.And if it wasn’t for those ships, I would have stayed here, wondering if Mister Frodo was happy out in the place he went.So everything turned out for the best, didn’t it?” Sam said, his eyes getting shiny.

Buffi bent down and picked something up off the ground.She looked at it and examined it closely, a wistful smile on her canine face. She remembered a conversation she had with one of the former owners of Bag End. And her eyes began to shine as well “Plant your trees,” she said, quietly.“Watch them grow.”

It was an acorn from up on the hill.From the young tree that replaced the Party Tree not that long ago.

“That’s the other part of it,” Sam said.“They’re celebrating being free to choose.Young folk, and old alike.Did you know my brother Halfred moved to Earth?”

Buffi looked at him with amazement.“What?”

“I know!As proper a hobbit as you’ll meet, up and moved his family to Indiana.That’s what I mean.Fifteen tweens this year are applying for Starfleet Academy!They’re expanding housing down the Withywindle River,” At that Samwise’s expression went sour “But the less said about that, the better.”

“Okay,” Buffi said, squatting down at Sam’s eye level and smiling.“What do they want me to do?”

“Nothing more than…one song?” Sam suggested.

“No speech?” Buffi fished.

“Um…maybe just a little something along the lines of what we were just talking about?” Sam admitted.“But nothing so deep.I mean, they’re deep-frying candy, for cryin’ out loud!”

“Ah, fair food,” Buffi said lustily.“If there’s waffle cakes, I’m sold!”

“Then you’re sold,” Sam said, grabbing his shears. 

“What are you doing, anyway?” Buffi asked Sam.

“A little arrangement on behalf of Merry,” Sam said. 

“And the nasturtiums?” Buffi pressed.

Samwise turned to Buffi, waggled his eyebrows and smiled bawdily.

“Why, that little horn-dog,” Buffi said with a grin.“Who’s the lucky recipient?”

“Fatty’s sister Estella,” Samwise replied.“The one who’s going to be the first female Shirriff.”

“Hmm…” Buffi got up.“I suppose I could do a rendition of “real Emotion” or something.” 

“With that one dress?” Sam suggested.

“The red?” Buffi asked, with a dubious expression.

“No, no, the blue, that you wore on Gimhelm VI,” Sam reminded her.“When you had to compete with the planet’s reigning idol singer for the dilithium sequencer.”

“Oh, right,” Buffi muttered, and began to sing, tunelessly,

 

_Though a thousand words_

_Have never been spoken_

_They'll fly to you_

_Crossing over the time and distance holding you_

_Suspended on Silver Wings…._

 

“You’re not gonna sing _that_ , are you?” Sam said.“That’s too sad for a festival!”

“No,” Buffi said, shaking her head.“It’s just…every time I sing, it’s about him.”

“The fella that got away?”Sam asked.“Or the fella that did you wrong?”

Buffi did away with the Look and simply looked away.“He didn’t ‘get away’, Sam.He got sent away.”

“Like with the other three brothers, aye, I know.But then they got themselves put to rights and now they’re out there.”He braved a glance at her.“Waiting for you.”

“Think it’s that easy?” Buffi asked.

“I got you to sing at a hobbit festival, didn’t I?” Sam retorted.“I’m feeling pretty confident right now!”

Buffi chuckled, which turned into a full laugh.Sam very rarely heard the Cainian laugh, and it was clear and honestly happy.“Thanks for that,” she told him.“Are the Reids coming to this thing, or no?”

“Oh, please,” Sam scoffed.“They’re already down at the Square, stuffing their faces with food.Now are you gonna change or not?”

 

Buffi rolled her eyes.Hustled again.“Okay, lemme get the dress pattern from the ship and I’ll change….”

 

Samwise brought the clippings inside as Buffi hurried into Bag End.As he brought the flowers into the workshop area to be arranged, he could hear the Cainian say “Mrs. Gamgee, I’m just gonna need to use your replicator?”And he shook his head and smiled.

 

“We’ll get her sorted out yet,” He said. 


End file.
